Durbans
plan to bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics could be just the shot in the arm
the local property market needs.

The Soccer World Cup was an excellent advertisement for Durban's
ability to host the Olympic Games, says Gerhard Kotzé, CEO
of the ERA South Africa property group, and the decision by South
Africa's Olympic body SASCOC to back a bid to host the 2020 games is very
exciting news for the city.

The bid will also have the support of President Zuma, who met with International
Olympics Committee president Jacques Rogge during the Soccer World Cup,
and of Sepp Blatter, president of world soccer body FIFA, who hailed the
World Cup as an outstanding success and said it proved that SA could easily
host the

Olympics.

In addition, Durban is to host the 123rd International Olympics Committee
conference in July next year, when the announcement for the 2018 Winter
Olympic Games will be announced, and many believe the IOC will quietly
use this as an opportunity to make an early assessment of the citys
capacity to host the games.

Dave Hitch, owner of the ERA Upper Highway office, says that historically,
hosting the Olympic Games has generally been good for real estate in the
host city. For example house prices in the Olympic cities of Barcelona,
Atlanta, Sydney and Athens all rose by more than the national average
in the five years before the staging of the Olympics. Property price inflation
averaged 66% during that period.

And a report from global real estate company Jones Lang Lasalle entitled
Reaching Beyond the Gold: The Impact of the Olympic Games on Real
Estate Markets says one of the most important effects of staging
the games, especially in developing cities, is the improvement of urban
infrastructure which can have a major impact on property values. In Athens,
it points out, a new airport built to the east of the city sent land and
property prices in the Messogia area soaring, while the Barcelona games
in 1992 led to the complete redevelopment of the citys waterfront
and huge property gains.

Of course, Durban has already seen major infrastructure improvements
thanks to the Soccer World Cup, with the upgrading of the beachfront areas
and the public transport system and the completion of the long-awaited
King Shaka airport being the most obvious examples.

But according to city manager Michael Sutcliffe the planning strategy
for the World Cup was called 2010 and Beyond because the work
is going to carry on to reinforce the fact that Durban is Africas
sporting and event capital, capable of hosting events like the Commonwealth
and Olympic Games.

Indeed, suggestions are already doing the rounds that the city could
host the Commonwealth Games or World Championship Athletics as a prelude
to the Olympic Games in much the same way as the Confederation Cup served
as a curtain raiser for the Soccer World Cup  and all this points
to a boost for Durbans economy, with one of the main beneficiaries
being the property market, says Hitch.

Areas that would be likely to benefit particularly include those
close to the stadium, those close to the Olympic village that would accompany
the games, residential areas close to suppliers of Olympics-related products
and services, and areas offering tourist accommodation on public transport
routes.

Musgrave, Hillcrest, the Bluff and Queensborough could all be in
line for positive spin-offs, and one would also expect an increase in
commercial, retail and residential property development around the new
airport.